Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
The Awesome God
76 God is known in Judah;
in Israel his reputation is great.
2 His abode is in Salem,[a]
his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he shattered sharp arrows,
shields, swords, and weapons of[b] war.
4 You are enveloped by light;
more majestic than mountains filled with game.
5 Brave men were plundered
while they slumbered in their sleep.
All the men of the army were immobilized.
6 At the sound of your battle cry, God of Jacob,
both horse and chariot rider fell into deep sleep.
7 You are awesome!
who can stand in your presence when you’re angry?
8 From heaven you declared judgment.
The earth stands in awe and is quiet
9 when God arose to execute justice
and to deliver all the afflicted of the earth.
10 Even human anger praises you;
you will wear the survivors of your wrath as an ornament.[c]
The Worship that God Commands
66 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house[a] that you would build for me,
and where will my resting place be?
2 All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came into being,”
declares the Lord.
“But this is the one to whom I will look favorably:
to the one who is humble and contrite in spirit,
and who[b] trembles at[c] my message.
3 “Whoever slaughters an ox
is just like[d] one who kills a human being;
whoever sacrifices a lamb
is just like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is just like one who offers pig’s blood;
and whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense
is just like one who blesses an idol.
Yes, these have chosen their own ways,
and they take delight in their contaminated actions.
4 Therefore[e] I, too, will choose harsh treatment for them,
and will bring upon them what they dread.
For when I called, no[f] one answered;
when I spoke, they didn’t listen;
but they did what I consider to be evil,
and chose what doesn’t please me.”
The Lord Vindicates Zion
5 “Hear this message from the Lord,
you who tremble at his words:[g]
“Your own brothers who hate you
and exclude you because of my name
have said: ‘Let the Lord be glorified;
he will see[h] your joy,’
yet it is they who will be put to shame.
6 “Listen to that uproar in[i] the city!
Listen to that noise from the Temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
paying back retribution to his enemies!
7 “Before she goes into labor she gives birth;
before her pains come upon her
she has delivered[j] a son.
8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?
And[k] who ever sees[l] such things?
Can a country be born in a single day,
or can a nation be brought forth in a single moment?
Yet no sooner was Zion in labor
than she delivered her children.
9 Am I to open the womb and not deliver?”
asks[m] the Lord.
“And when I bring to delivery, am I to close[n] the womb?”
asks your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be happy for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in gladness,
all you who mourn over her,
11 so that you may nurse and be satisfied
at her consoling breasts,
and so that you may drink deeply and take delight
from her glorious bosom.”
The Rule of God
12 This[o] is what the Lord says:
All to the Glory of God
23 Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up. 24 No one should seek his own welfare, but rather his neighbor’s.
25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without raising any question about it on the grounds of conscience, 26 for “the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”[a] 27 If an unbeliever invites you to his house and you wish to go, eat whatever is set before you, raising no question on the grounds of conscience. 28 However, if someone says to you, “This was offered as a sacrifice,” don’t eat it, both out of consideration for the one who told you and also for the sake of conscience. 29 I mean, of course, his conscience, not yours. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I eat with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of what I am thankful for?
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32 Don’t become a stumbling block to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I myself try to please everybody in every way. I don’t look out for my own benefit, but rather for the benefit of many people, so that they might be saved.
Be Imitators of Me
11 Imitate me, as I do the Messiah.[b]
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